Gaming machine sharing source of dividend for special game with other gaming machines and playing method thereof

ABSTRACT

A slot machine is configured to accumulate a portion of credits, which are bet on a unit game for rearranging arranged symbols, in an internal counter for counting resources for a progressive bonus. When the counted value of this counter reaches a predetermined value or more, the slot machine notifies a payout controller of the fact. When the payout controller receiving the notification judges that a progressive bonus payout condition is satisfied, the payout controller notifies the slot machine of the judgment result. Upon receipt of the notification, the slot machine provides a player with a payout for the progressive bonus accumulated in the internal counter.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 61/039,971 filed on Mar. 27, 2008, and which isincorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a gaming machine that shares a sourceof a dividend for a special game with other gaming machines and to aplaying method thereof.

2. Description of Related Art

As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,459 specification, U.S. Pat. No.6,695,697 specification, U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2003/0,069,073 specification, European Patent Application PublicationNo. 1,192,975 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,483 specification, U.S.Pat. No. 5,611,730 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,088 specification,U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,981 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,896specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,016 specification, U.S. Pat. No.6,273,820 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,482 specification, U.S.Pat. No. 4,669,731 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,957 specification,U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,048 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,402specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,013 specification, U.S. Pat. No.4,283,709 specification, European Patent Application Publication No.0,631,798 specification, German Patent Application Publication No.4,137,010 specification, British Patent Application Publication No.2,326,830 specification, German Patent Application Publication No.3,712,841 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,638 specification, U.S.Pat. No. 6,089,980 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,909 specification,U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,303 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,409specification, U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,533 specification, U.S. Pat. No.5,836,817 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,704 specification, U.S.Pat. No. 6,932,707 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,728 specification,European Patent Application Publication No. 1,302,914 specification,U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,459 specification, U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,700specification, PCT Patent Application Publication No. 03/083,795specification, German Patent Application Publication No. 3,242,890specification, European Patent Application Publication No. 0,840,264specification, German Patent Application Publication No. 10,049,444specification, PCT Patent Application Publication No. 04/095,383specification, European Patent Application Publication No. 1,544,811specification, U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,963 specification, European PatentApplication Publication No. 1,477,947 specification, and European PatentApplication Publication No. 1,351,180 specification, in a facility inwhich gaming machines such as slot machines are provided, a player canplay a game provided by a gaming machine by making bets such as coins,credits, etc., at that gaming machine.

For example, a typical slot machine is configured to execute a slot gameby rearranging multiples symbols arranged on a display each time aplayer makes a bet on the slot machine and presses a start switch. Then,when the symbols rearranged on the display include a predeterminednumber of scatter symbols or when a predetermined winning combination isformed on a payline, the slot machine provides a payout corresponding tothe content of the winning condition. This payout varies largelydepending on how much the player makes the bet on the slot game.

When multiple slot machine each configured to execute theabove-described slot game are connected online to one another and toexecute a game which is common to all the slot machines, it is importantto consider a balance between a payout to a player who makes a large betamount and a payout to another player who only makes a small bet amountwhen players at the slot machines respectively receive payouts as aresult of the common game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine and aplaying method thereof which have higher entertainment properties byproviding variation in payout amounts for a progressive bonus to beawarded to respective players by a trigger that is common to othergaming machines.

A first aspect of the present invention is a gaming machine comprising:a display configured to display a unit game causing a plurality ofarranged symbols to be rearranged; a counter configured to count acounted value for a progressive bonus; and a controller configured to(a) receive a notification from a common display unit, the gamingmachine and another gaming machine being connected together to thecommon display unit, the notification being for all the gaming machinesconnected to the common display unit and stating that a progressivebonus award condition is satisfied in a progressive bonus awarddetermination game executed by the common display unit; (b) upon receiptof the notification from the common display unit that the progressivebonus award condition is satisfied, provide an award for the progressivebonus in an amount corresponding to the counted value.

A second aspect of the present invention is a gaming machine comprising:a display configured to display a unit game causing a plurality ofarranged symbols to be rearranged; a counter configured to count acounted value for a progressive bonus; and a controller configured to(a) determine a bet unit for betting on the unit game on the basis ofplayer identification information provided from outside for identifyinga player of the gaming machine; (b) increment the counted valueaccording to an amount bet on the unit game in the determined bet unit;(c) receive a notification from a common display unit, the gamingmachine and another gaming machine being connected together to thecommon display unit, the notification being for all the gaming machinesconnected to the common display unit and stating that a progressivebonus award condition is satisfied in a progressive bonus awarddetermination game executed by the common display unit; (d) upon receiptof the notification from the common display unit that the progressivebonus award condition is satisfied, provide an award for the progressivebonus in an amount corresponding to the counted value.

A third aspect of the present invention is a method of playing a gamingmachine configured to display on a display a unit game causing aplurality of arranged symbols to be rearranged: receiving a notificationfrom a common display unit, the gaming machine and another gamingmachine being connected together to the common display unit, thenotification being for all the gaming machines connected to the commondisplay unit and stating that a progressive bonus award condition issatisfied in a progressive bonus award determination game executed bythe common display unit; and upon receipt of the notification from thecommon display unit that the progressive bonus award condition issatisfied, providing an award for the progressive bonus in an amountcorresponding to a counted value of a counter being configured to countthe counted value for a progressive bonus.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a method of playing a gamingmachine configured to display on a display a unit game causing aplurality of arranged symbols to be rearranged: determining a bet unitfor betting on the unit game on the basis of player identificationinformation provided from outside for identifying a player of the gamingmachine; incrementing a counted value of a counter according to anamount bet on the unit game in the determined bet unit, the counterbeing configured to count the counted value for a progressive bonus; andreceiving a notification from a common display unit, the gaming machineand another gaming machine being connected together to the commondisplay unit, the notification being for all the gaming machinesconnected to the common display unit and stating that a progressivebonus award condition is satisfied in a progressive bonus awarddetermination game executed by the common display unit; upon receipt ofthe notification from the common display unit that the progressive bonusaward condition is satisfied, providing an award for the progressivebonus in an amount corresponding to the counted value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart schematically showing procedures to be executed bya slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a display example to be displayedon a liquid crystal display of a slot machine according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing partitioned regions in a matrix tobe defined on the display of the slot machine according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the slot machine according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the slot machineaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a rotatable reel device of theslot machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a side view showing the rotatable reel device of the slotmachine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration ofsymbols to be disposed on circumferential surfaces of rotatable reels ofthe slot machine according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of aslot machine system according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing procedures to be executed by the slotmachine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing procedures to be executed by a payoutcontroller of the slot machine system according to the first embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 11 is another flowchart showing procedures to be executed by thepayout controller of the slot machine system according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is another flowchart showing procedures to be executed by thepayout controller of the slot machine system according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a display example of a slot gameto be executed on a display of the slot machine according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing another display example of theslot game to be executed on the display of the slot machine according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a slot machine according to a secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the slot machineaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Now, an outline of operations of a slot machine according to anembodiment of the present invention representing a typical example of agaming machine of the present invention as well as a playing methodthereof will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 8.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart schematically showing an outline of operations ofa slot machine according to this embodiment and a playing methodthereof. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a display example to bedisplayed on a display of a slot machine of this embodiment. FIG. 3 isan explanatory view showing partitioned regions in a matrix to bedefined on the display of the slot machine of this embodiment. FIG. 4 isa perspective view of the slot machine of this embodiment. FIG. 5 is ablock diagram showing a control circuit of the slot machine of thisembodiment. FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a rotatable reeldevice of the slot machine of this embodiment. FIG. 6B is a side viewshowing the rotatable reel device of the slot machine of thisembodiment. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a schematicconfiguration of symbols to be disposed on circumferential surfaces ofrotatable reels of the slot machine of this embodiment. FIG. 8 is anexplanatory view showing a schematic configuration of a slot machinesystem including the slot machine of this embodiment.

A display 16 (a display) is disposed on a front face of a cabinet 11 ofa slot machine 10 shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 3, this display 16includes 15 partitioned regions q11 to q53. These partitioned regionsq11 to q53 are arranged in a matrix including first to fifth columns andfirst to third rows.

In the slot machine 10 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 4, symbols thatare arranged in the above-described partitioned regions q11 to q53 shownin FIG. 3 are rearranged every time a unit game is executed. This unitgame can be executed by rotating and stopping rotatable reels 53 a to 53e behind the partitioned regions q11 to q53 of the display 16, forexample.

As shown in FIG. 6A, a rotatable reel device 53 includes five rotatablereels 53 a to 53 e that correspond to respective windows 16 a to 16 e ofthe display 16. As shown in FIG. 7, 21 symbols are laid out at evenintervals on a circumferential surface of each of the rotatable reels 53a to 53 e. These symbols include 9 types of symbols, namely, “A (ace)”,“K (king)”, “Q (queen)”, “J (jack)”, “10”, “umbrella”, “lightening”,“cloud”, and “special (man's face)”.

Three symbols on each of the rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e are visible toa player through the corresponding partitioned regions q11 to q53.Accordingly, the arrangement and the rearrangement of the symbols areexecuted by rotating and stopping the rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e.

Then, when the symbols are rearranged in the respective portionedregions q11 to q53 in a unit game as shown in FIG. 2, a payout amount ofcredits (an amount of an award) is determined in accordance withpredetermined rules on a payout table, and the determined payout amountof credits is provided. Thereafter, the symbols in the respectivepartitioned regions q11 to q53 are rearranged when a subsequent unitgame is started.

As shown in FIG. 1, the slot machine 10 in FIG. 4 of this embodimentfirstly decides a bet unit of a wager on the unit game to be displayedon the display 16 in FIG. 3 (step S1). This bet unit may be decidedassociated with a player of this slot machine 10. For example, playeridentification information may be read out of a smart card owned by theplayer by using a card reader 36 shown in FIG. 4 and the bet unit may bedecided in accordance with a past game history of the player containedin the player identification information. If this player is a highroller, it is possible to decide that the bet unit for this player ishigher than that for an ordinary player.

Next, the slot machine 10 accepts a bet of the player on one unit gamewhich is about to be started (step S2). In this bet acceptance, an inputof a bet amount on the unit game is accepted.

Thereafter, the slot machine 10 increments a counted value of a counter127 (see FIG. 5) included in the slot machine 10, in accordance with theaccepted bet (step S3). This counted value is a value corresponding toresources for a progressive bonus which are accumulated in the slotmachine 10. Subsequently, the slot machine 10 judges whether or not thecounted value of the counter 127 is a predetermined value or more (stepS4).

This predetermined value may be set up in response to the bet unit ofthe wager decided in step S1. For example, when the bet unit of thewager becomes larger, the counted value of the counter 127 representingaccumulation of a portion of the wager also becomes larger. Inconjunction therewith, it is possible to set the predetermined value toa relatively larger value. In this way, the number of credits to beprovided as the progressive bonus is made larger relatively depending onthe bet unit of the wager.

Now, when the counted value of the counter 127 is the predeterminedvalue or more (YES in step S4), this fact is notified to a payoutcontroller 3 provided on a stage 1 where the slot machine 10 is disposedas shown in FIG. 8 (step S5). Moreover, the slot machine 10 displays theunit game for rearranging the multiple arranged symbols on the display16 in FIG. 3 (step S6).

To be more precise, the player can make the bet of the wager on the unitgame by inserting medals or coins that represent cashable credits, whichcan be cashed in, to the slot machine 10. Alternatively, the player canmake the bet of the wager by allocating a designated amount ofrestricted credits, which are digitalized and memorized in the slotmachine 10 and rendered continuously usable as the wager until cashing,to the bet by operating the slot machine 10.

In the following description, a unit of the wager by which the playercan make a bet by using the above-described cashable credits and therestricted credits will be referred to as a “credit”. For example, whenthe player inserts a single medal or coin to the slot machine 10 as thewager, this is equivalent to making the bet of “one credit” as thewager. Meanwhile, when the player allocates two restricted credits tothe wager by operating the slot machine 10, this is equivalent to makingthe bet of “two credits” as the wager.

In tandem with the above-described display of the unit game, the slotmachine 10 judges whether or not the payout controller 3 notifies theslot machine 10 that a progressive bonus payout condition is satisfied(step S7). When notified (YES in step S7), the slot machine 10 providesa payout for the progressive bonus, accumulated in the slot machine 10,in accordance with the counted value counted by the counter 127 in FIG.5 (step S8).

Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the payout controller 3 configured to notifythe slot machine 10 of satisfaction of the progressive bonus payoutcondition, which causes the slot machine 10 to provide the payout forthe progressive bonus, is also connected to other two slot machines 10Aand 10B. Moreover, when the counted value of the counter 127 in any ofthe slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B reaches the predetermined value ormore, the any of the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B notifies the payoutcontroller 3 of that fact.

Therefore, the payout controller 3 judges whether or not the progressivebonus payout condition is satisfied on the basis of the notificationthat the counted value of the counter 127 for counting the resources forthe progressive bonus received from any of the slot machines 10, 10A,and 10B reaches the predetermined value or more. When the progressivebonus payout condition is satisfied, the payout controller 3 can notifyany of the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B of that fact.

For example, when the payout controller 3 receives the notificationsthat the counted value of the counter 127 reaches the predeterminedvalue or more from all the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B, the payoutcontroller 3 may execute a condition satisfaction decision processcommon to the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B. As a result, when theprogressive bonus payout condition is satisfied, the payout controller 3notifies the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B of the satisfaction of theprogressive bonus payout condition. Here, the condition satisfactiondecision process may employ a game mode as similar to the unit game or alottery mode using a random number or the like.

In the meantime, in each of the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B, someportions of the credits bet on the unit games as the wager by theplayers are accumulated on the counters 127 unique to the respectiveslot machines 10, 10A, and 10B as the resources for the progressivebonus.

Here, it is also possible to omit the above-described process in stepS1, that is, the process in which the bet unit for a player, who isdetermined as a high roller according to his/her game history in theplayer identification information, is set higher than the bet unit foran ordinary player.

Meanwhile, the above-described process in step S3 may be omitted. Inthis case, other than the portions of the wagers bet on the unit games,it is possible to accumulate portions of payouts of the unit gamesgenerated in the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B as theresources for the progressive bonus to be counted by the counters 127 ofthe slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B, for example.

Moreover, the above-described processes in step S4 and step S5 may alsobe omitted. In this case, the payout controller 3 may be configured tojudge whether or not the progressive bonus payout condition is satisfiedindependently from the counted values of the counters 127 in therespective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B, i.e. independently from thecondition of accumulation of the resources for the progressive bonus.

According to the slot machine 10 of this embodiment and the playingmethod thereof, the payouts for the progressive bonus occursconcurrently in the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B connectedto the payout controller 3 by the notification from the payoutcontroller 3 concerning the satisfaction of the progressive bonus payoutcondition. Moreover, the resources for the progressive bonus counted bythe counters 127 of the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B areused for the payouts to be provided to the players at the slot machines10, 10A, and 10B.

For this reason, the payouts for the progressive bonus to be provided tothe players by the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B on thebasis of the common notification (the notification concerningsatisfaction of the progressive bonus payout condition) may be set todifferent contents among the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B.

Accordingly, even when the players bet different bet amounts on the unitgames, each player can receive the payout for the progressive bonuswithout being influenced by the contents of the bets on the unit gamesmade by the other players. In this way, it is possible to provide theslot machine 10 and the playing method having higher entertainmentproperties by providing variation in payout amounts for the progressivebonus to be awarded to the player at the slot machine 10 by the triggerthat is common to the gaming machines 10, 10A and 10B.

Next, details of a slot machine according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the slotmachine 10 of this embodiment includes a cabinet 11, a top box 12provided on an upper side of the cabinet 11, and a main door 13 providedon a front face of the cabinet 11. A display 16 is provided in front ofthe main door 13. As shown in FIG. 3, this display 16 includes the 15partitioned regions q11 to q53 which are arranged in a matrix includingfirst to fifth columns and first to third rows as shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, this display 16 includes the windows 16 a to 16 e,always displayed in a transparent state, corresponding to the first tofifth columns, respectively. Moreover, the rotatable reel device 53 isdisposed inside the cabinet 11 so as to be located behind the display16.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the rotatable reel device 53 includes the fiverotatable reels 53 a to 53 e that correspond to the respective windows16 a to 16 e of the display 16. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6B, therotatable reel device 53 includes driving motors 56 a to 56 e formed ofstepping motors for rotating the respective rotatable reels 53 a to 53e. The rotatable reel device 53 further includes sensors 54 a to 54 e(see FIG. 5) for reading bar codes or for counting the number of passageof slits in order to detect rotation, stops, and stopped rotationalpositions of the respective rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e.

As shown in FIG. 7, the 21 symbols are laid out at even intervals on thecircumferential surface of each of the rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e. Tobe more precise, the 9 types of symbols, namely, “A (ace)”, “K (king)”,“Q (queen)”, “J (jack)”, “10”, “umbrella”, “lightening”, “cloud”, and“special (man's face)” are laid out in accordance with predeterminedpatterns on the rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e.

In the slot machine 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, threecontinuous symbols out of the 21 symbols laid out on the circumferentialsurface of each of the rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e are visible to aplayer through each of the transparent windows 16 a to 16 e of thedisplay 16. That is, the windows 16 a to 16 e define the partitionedregions q11 to q13, q21 to q23, q31 to q33, q41 to q43, and q51 to q53in the direction of three upper, middle, and lower rows corresponding tofirst to fifth columns, respectively.

Moreover, in the slot machine 10 of this embodiment, one slot gamesession (the unit game) is executed by rearranging the symbols that arearranged in the partitioned regions q11 to q53 and are visible to theplayer through the respective windows 16 a to 16 e, by means of rotatingand stopping the respective rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e. This slot gameis usually executable by making a bet using game media. In this way, asshown in FIG. 2, the symbols are rearranged in the respectivepartitioned regions q11 to q53 of the display 16.

This embodiment describes an example of using medals as the game mediafor execution of the slot game. However, the media for the slot game arenot limited only to the medals. For example, it is possible to usecoins, tokens, electronic money, or other electronic value information(credits) corresponding thereto.

Various operation switches to be used by the player to inputinstructions concerning game procedures, a medal insertion slot 21configured to accept the medals, and a bill validator 22 configured tovalidate whether each bill is authentic and to accept authentic billsare provided below the display 16. Here, the bill validator 22 may alsobe configured to read a bar coded ticket 39.

Moreover, various operation switches are provided in the vicinity ofmedal insertion slot 21 and the bill validator 22. As the operationswitches, a payout switch 23, a MAXBET switch 24, a BET switch 25, aspin repeat bet switch 26, and a start switch 27 are provided.

The BET switch 25 is a switch for determining the number of credits tobe bet on the slot game executed on the display 16. As will be describedlater, a credit equivalent to one medal is bet on every time the BETswitch 25 is pressed.

The spin repeat bet switch 26 is a switch to be operated for executingthe slot game by making the bet of credits without changing the numberof the credits made in the previous slot game by operating the BETswitch 25.

The start switch 27 is a switch for starting the slot game after thedesired number of credits are bet. When the start switch 27 is pressedafter the medals are inserted into the medal insertion slot 21 or thebet of credits is made by using the BET switch 25, the slot game isstarted on the display 16.

The payout switch 23 is a switch for providing inserted medals. Themedals to be provided are discharged from a medal payout opening 19provided at a lower part on the front face of the main door 13. Thedischarged medals are pooled in a medal tray 18.

The MAXBET switch 24 is a switch for making a bet, in a singleoperation, in a maximum amount (such as 30 medals) that the player canmake a bet in one slot game session.

A foot display 34 is provided at a lower part on the front face of themain door 13 and is configured to display certain images on the basis ofimage display control data included in game software in operation.

An upper display 33 is provided on a front face of the top box 12. Theupper display 33 includes a liquid crystal panel which is adopted todisplay a payout table and the like.

Meanwhile, the top box 12 is provided with a speaker 29. A ticketprinter 35, a card reader 36, a data display 37, and a keypad 38 areprovided on a lower side of the upper display 33. The ticket printer 35is configured to print a ticket with a bar code encoding respective dataincluding the amount of credits, date and time, an identification numberof the slot machine 10, and the like and to output the ticket as a barcoded ticket 39.

The player is able to allow another slot machine to read the bar codedticket 39 and to use the credits as wagers for playing the slot gameswith that slot machine and to exchange the bar coded ticket 39 withmoney bills and the like at a predetermined location in a gamingfacility (such as a cashier in a casino).

The card reader 36 allows insertion of a smart card and is configured toread data out of the inserted smart card and to write data into thesmart card. The smart card is a card carried by the player, which storesdata for identifying the player, and data concerning a history of gamesplayed by the player. Here, it is also possible to change an upper limitof the bet executable in one slot game session on the basis of the dataread out of the smart card with the card reader 36. Such a change in theupper limit of the bet is beneficial to a high roller player.

The smart card may be configured to store data corresponding to coins,money bills, or credits. Alternatively, it is also possible to employ amagnetic stripe card instead of the smart card. The data display 37 isformed of a fluorescent display or the like and is adapted to displaydata read out by the card reader 36 and data inputted by the playerthrough the keypad 38, for example.

Meanwhile, instead of the smart card, it is possible to use a card thatallows noncontact data reading and writing by employing a radiofrequency identification (RFID) method. The keypad 38 is used forinputting instructions and data concerning ticket issuance and the like.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the slot machineof this embodiment. A machine controller 40 shown in the drawing is amicrocomputer which includes: an interface circuit group 102; aninput-output bus 104; a CPU (central processing unit) 106; a ROM(read-only memory) 108; a RAM (random access memory) 110; acommunication interface circuit 111; a random number generating circuit112; a speaker driving circuit 122; a hopper driving circuit 124; acounter 127; a display driving circuit 128; display controller 140; amotor driving circuit 51 for driving the respective driving motors 56 ato 56 e in the rotatable reel device 53; and a reel position detectioncircuit 52 configured to detect rotation, stops, and stopped positionsof the respective rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e by use of outputs fromthe respective sensors 54 a to 54 e in the rotatable reel device 53.

The respective sensors 54 a to 54 e are disposed so as to face margins55 secured beside layout regions for the respective symbols on thecircumferential surfaces of the relevant rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e.Moreover, the respective sensors 54 a to 54 e can detect rotation,stops, and stopped positions of the respective rotatable reels 53 a to53 e by detecting identifiers such as bar codes that are laid out on themargins 55 so as to correspond to the respective symbols. Here, it ispossible to employ various known methods including optical methods ormagnetic methods for detection of the identifiers by the respectivesensors 54 a to 54 e.

The interface circuit group 102 is connected to the input-output bus 104and this input-output bus 104 inputs and outputs data signals andaddress signals to and from the CPU 106.

The start switch 27 is connected to the interface circuit group 102. Astart signal outputted from this start switch 27 is converted into acertain signal by the interface circuit group 102 and is thentransmitted to the CPU 106 through the input-output bus 104.

Moreover, the BET switch 25, the MAXBET switch 24, the spin repeat betswitch 26, and the payout switch 23 are connected to the interfacecircuit group 102. Moreover, respective switching signals outputted fromthese switches 25, 24, 26, and 23 are supplied to the interface circuitgroup 102, then converted into certain signals by this interface circuitgroup 102, and then transmitted to the CPU 106 through the input-outputbus 104.

In addition, a medal sensor 43 is connected to the interface circuitgroup 102. The medal sensor 43 is a sensor for detecting the medalsinserted to the medal insertion slot 21 and is provided at a medalinsertion region of the medal insertion slot 21. A detection signaloutputted from this medal sensor 43 is supplied to the interface circuitgroup 102, then converted into a certain signal by this interfacecircuit group 102, and then transmitted to the CPU 106 through theinput-output bus 104.

The ROM 108 for storing system programs and the RAM 110 for savingvarious data are connected to the input-output bus 104. The RAM 110 isprovided with areas and the like for managing flags and storing avariety of information.

The ROM 108 stores a payout table. The payout table indicates conditionsfor generating payouts and correlations between the conditions and thenumbers of credits to be provided when the conditions are satisfied. Theconditions for generating the payouts are determined by which symbolsare rearranged in the partitioned regions q11 to q53 of the display 16.The contents of rearranged symbols for generating the payouts can bedefined by the number of scatter symbols rearranged in the partitionedregions q11 to q53 in the slot game, or by patterns of winningconditions on paylines set in the partitioned regions q11 to q53. In theslot game in this embodiment, the CPU 106 determines whether or not togenerate a payout (to provide a payout of credits) and a payout amountof credits (the number of credits subject to be provide) on the basis ofthe payout table and on the symbols stopped in the respectivepartitioned regions q11 to q53.

Triggered by acceptance of a starting operation of a game by the startswitch 27, the CPU 106 reads a game execution program out of the ROM 108and executes a slot game. The game execution program is a program forexecuting the slot game by driving the respective driving motors 56 a to56 e of the rotatable reel device 53 by way of the motor driving circuit51.

Specifically, the slot game involving: simultaneously varying anddisplaying the symbols in all the partitioned regions q11 to q53 of thedisplay 16; stopping the symbols; and, if the rearranged symbolssatisfies any of the contents for providing the payout, providing apayout in the payout amount on the basis of the payout table stored inthe ROM 108.

Moreover, the random number generating circuit 112, the communicationinterface circuit 111, the display controller 140, the hopper drivingcircuit 124, and speaker driving circuit 122, the counter 127, thedisplay driving circuit 128, the motor driving circuit 51, and the reelposition detection circuit 52 are connected to the input-output bus 104.

The communication interface circuit 111 is connected to a hall server,for example, and transmits data such as a play history executed by theslot machine 10 to the hall server. Meanwhile, the communicationinterface circuit 111 receives various data transmitted from the hallserver.

The random number generating circuit 112 generates a random number fordetermining whether or not to generate a winning combination or ajackpot in the slot game executed on the display 16.

The counter 127 has a function to count resources for the progressivebonus. The resources for the progressive bonus counted by the counter127 are formed by accumulating a portion of the bet when the bet with apredetermined amount or more is made on one slot game session. Here, thecounter 127 may also be provided inside the RAM 110.

The display driving circuit 128 performs control to display an amount ofpayout in a payout amount display region 48 defined in a lower leftregion of the display 16.

The speaker driving circuit 122 output sound data to the speaker 29.Specifically, the CPU 106 reads the sound data stored in the ROM 108 andtransmits the sound data to the speaker driving circuit 122 through theinput-output bus 104. In this way, predetermined sound effects areoutputted from the speaker 29.

The hopper driving circuit 124 outputs a payout signal to the hopper 44when a payout is generated. Specifically, when a payout signal isinputted from the payout switch 23, the CPU 106 outputs a driving signalto the hopper driving circuit 124 through the input-output bus 104.Accordingly, the hopper 44 discharges the medals equivalent to theremaining amount of credits at that point stored in a predeterminedmemory region of the RAM 110.

The display controller 140 performs display control to the display 16 toalways display the windows 16 a to 16 e transparently. Specifically, theCPU 106 generates an image display instruction signal to instruct thedisplay 16 to always display the windows 16 a to 16 e transparently andoutputs the image display instruction signal to the display controller140 through the input-output bus 104. Upon receipt of the image displayinstruction signal outputted from the CPU 106, the display controller140 generates a driving signal for driving the display 16 on the basisof the image display instruction signal and outputs the driving signalthus generated to the display 16. In this way, the windows 16 a to 16 eare always displayed transparently.

The slot machine 10 in FIG. 4 having the above-described configurationis disposed on the stage 1 together with two other slot machines 10A and10B as shown in FIG. 8. The payout controller 3 is housed in this stage1. This payout controller 3 manages satisfaction of payout conditionsfor the progressive bonus on the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and10B. The progressive bonus is counted independently of the respectiveslot machines 10, 10A, and 10B.

The two slot machines 10A and 10B to be disposed on the stage 1 togetherwith the slot machine 10 basically have the same configuration as thatof the slot machine 10. Each of the payout table stored in the ROM 108of the slot machine 10A or the slot machine 10B basically has the sameconfiguration as the payout table stored in the ROM 108 of the slotmachine 10.

Next, operations that are common to the respective slot machines 10,10A, and 10B will be described with reference to a flowchart shown inFIG. 9. FIG. 9 is the flowchart showing procedures of a slot gameprocess to be executed by the CPU 106 shown in FIG. 5 in accordance withthe game execution program stored in the ROM 108.

First, when the CPU 106 starts the slot game process shown in FIG. 9,the CPU 106 executes a bet unit setting process in step S10. In this betunit setting process, the CPU 106 reads the player identificationinformation out of the smart card carried by the player by using thecard reader 36 in FIG. 4. When the CPU 106 judges that this player is ahigh roller according to the past game history of the player included inthe player identification information, the CPU 106 sets the bet unithigher than that in an ordinary case.

Next, in step S11, the CPU judges whether or not credits are bet. Inthis process, the CPU 106 judges whether or not the CPU 106 receives anyof a signal to be outputted from the BET switch 25 at the time ofpressing the BET switch 25 or a signal to be outputted from the MAXBETswitch 24 at the time of pressing the MAXBET switch 24. The processreturns to step S11 when the CPU 106 judges that no credits are bet.

On the other hand, when the CPU 106 judges that the credits are bet instep S11, the process goes to step S12 where the CPU 106 subtracts thenumber of credits stored in the RAM 110 by a number depending on the betnumber of credits.

Next, in step S13, the CPU 16 judges whether or not the start switch 27is pressed. In this process, the CPU 106 judges whether or not the CPU106 receives a signal outputted from the start switch 27 at the time ofpressing the start switch 27.

When the CPU 106 judges that the start switch 27 is not pressed, theprocess returns to step S11. Note that when the start switch 27 is notpressed (for example, when an instruction to terminate the game isinputted instead of pressing the start switch 27), the CPU 106 cancels aresult of subtraction calculation of the number of credits in Step S12.

Next, when the CPU 16 judges that the start switch 27 is pressed in stepS13, the CPU 106 transitions from step S13 to step S14 to execute anupdating process of a counted value of the progressive bonus. In thisprocess, the CPU 106 executes the process to increment the counted valuefor counting the resources for the progressive bonus to be counted bythe counter 127 by an amount equivalent to a portion of the credits(such as one-third of the all credits to be bet) bet in step S11. Thenthe process goes to step S15.

In step S15, the CPU 106 judges whether or not the counted value forcounting the resources for the progressive bonus to be counted by thecounter 127 is a predetermined value or more. When the counted value isnot the predetermined value or more (NO in step S15), the CPU 106transitions to a process in step S17 to be described later. On the otherhand, when the counted value of the counter 127 is the predeterminedvalue or more (YES in step S15), the CPU 106 notifies the payoutcontroller 3 in step S16 that the counted value of the counter 127 isthe predetermined value or more. Thereafter, the process goes to stepS17.

In step S17, the CPU 106 determines stopped symbols. In this process todetermine the stopped symbols, the CPU 106 determines the symbols to bestopped and displayed (rearranged) on the respective partitioned regionsq11 to q53 by executing a stopped symbol determination program thatconstitutes part of the game execution program stored in the ROM 108.

According to this stopped symbol determination process, each of thesymbols to be rearranged in the respective partitioned regions q11 toq53 are selected from the 9 types of symbols of “A (ace)”, “K (king)”,“Q (queen)”, “J jack)”, “10”, “umbrella”, “lightening”, “cloud”, and“special (man's face)” that are shown in FIG. 7.

Next, the CPU 106 executes a symbol varying and displaying process instep S18. This is the process to start varying and displaying symbols inthe partitioned regions q11 to q53 as shown in FIG. 13, and then to stopthe symbols in the partitioned regions q11 to q53 as shown in FIG. 14.As a result of executing the process for starting and stopping thevarying display of symbols, the symbols are rearranged in thepartitioned regions q11 to q53. The symbol varying and displayingprocess in step S18 is executed by rotating and stopping the rotatablereels 53 a to 53 e of the rotatable reel device 53 while driving thedriving motors 56 a to 56 e with the motor driving circuit 51.

After completion of the varying and displaying process, the CPU 106proceeds to step S19 and judges whether or not there the symbolsrearranged in the partitioned regions q11 to q53 forms any winningcombination. That is, the CPU 106 judges whether or not the conditionfor generating the winning is satisfied.

In this step S19, the CPU 106 refers to the payout table stored in theROM 108 and judges whether or not the content of the symbols rearrangedin the above-described step S18 coincides with any of the contents ofthe symbol-rearrangement defined on the payout table as subjects togenerate the payouts.

Subsequently, when the content of the rearranged symbols coincides withany of the contents of rearranged symbols defined on the payout table,the CPU 106 judges that the winning is established, and determines thepayout amount of credits in the slot game by using the payout amountdefined corresponding to the content of the symbol-rearrangement in stepS20. Thereafter, the process transitions from step S20 to the next stepS21.

On the other hand, when the contents of the symbols rearranged in stepS18 does not coincide with any of the contents of thesymbol-rearrangement for generating the payouts as defined on the payouttable, the CPU 106 judges that the winning is not established andtherefore proceeds to step S21.

In step S21, the CPU 106 judges whether or not the payout controller 3notifies the CPU 106 that the payout condition for progressive bonus issatisfied. When not notified that the payout condition for progressivebonus is satisfied (NO in step S21), the CPU 106 proceeds to step S23 tobe described later. When notified that the payout condition forprogressive bonus is satisfied (YES in step S21), the CPU 106 executes aprogressive bonus payout process in step S22.

In the progressive bonus payout process in step S22, the CPU 106determines the payout amount of credits in the progressive bonus equalto the number of credits corresponding to the resources for theprogressive bonus counted by the counter 127, and then proceeds to thenext step S23.

In step S23, the CPU 106 executes a payout process to provide the payoutof credits that corresponds to the payout. In this payout process, theCPU 106 adds the credits corresponding to the winning outcome in theabove-described step S19 and the credits corresponding to the payout forthe progressive bonus in the above-described step S21 to the number ofcredits stored in the RAM 110. Thereafter, the process returns to theabove-described step S11 to execute the next slot game process.

As apparent from the above description, in this embodiment, the CPU 106constitutes a controller as defined in the claims.

As described above, as the CPU 106 executes the updating process of thecounted value of the progressive bonus in step S14, the payouts for theprogressive bonus to be provided by the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10Buse the credits individually accumulated by the counters 127 of the slotmachines 10, 10A, and 10B as the resources for the payouts. This payoutcontroller 3 can be formed of a computer that includes the CPU, the ROM,and the RAM.

Next, operations of the payout controller 3 will be described withreference to flowcharts shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 12. FIG. 10 to FIG. 12are the flowcharts showing procedures of a progressive bonus payoutcondition management process, a notification reception process, and apayout notification process to be executed by the payout controller 3 inaccordance with programs stored in the ROM.

First, when the payout controller 3 starts the progressive bonus payoutcondition management process shown in FIG. 10, the payout controller 3repeatedly executes the notification reception process in step S31 andthe payout notification process in step S32.

In the notification reception process in step S31, as shown in FIG. 11,the payout controller 3 judges whether or not all of the slot machines10, 10A, and 10B notify the payout controller 3 that the predeterminedamount of credits or more is accumulated in the counters 127 as theresources for the progressive bonus (step S310).

When notified from all the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B as shown inFIG. 11 (YES in step S310), the payout controller 3 sets a receptionflag F to “1” (step S311) and then terminates the notification receptionprocess. When any of or all the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B does notnotify the payout controller 3 (NO in step S310), the payout controller3 sets the reception flag F to “0” (step S312) and then terminates thenotification reception process.

In addition, in the payout notification process in step S32, the payoutcontroller 3 judges whether or not the reception flag F is set to “1” asshown in FIG. 12 (step S320). The payout notification process isterminated if the reception flag F is not set to “1” (NO in step S320).

On the other hand, when the reception flag F is set to “1” (YES inS320), the payout controller 3 judges whether or not to generate thepayouts for the progressive bonus at the respective slot machines 10,10A, and 10B (step S321). This judgment may be performed by means of alottery process using a random number table or by means of a gameprocess such as a slot game common to the respective slot machines 10,10A, and 10B.

In order to judge whether or not to generate the payouts for theprogressive bonus at the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B bythe game process described above, it is possible to carry out a commongame using parts of the symbols rearranged in the partitioned regionsq11 to q53 on the displays 16 of the respective slot machines 10, 10A,and 10B as shown in FIG. 2, for example.

In this common game, the payout controller 3 picks up the symbolscorresponding to one of the first to third rows among the symbolsrearranged in the partitioned regions q11 to q53 from each of the slotmachines 10, 10A, and 10B.

Then, the payout controller 3 controls a common display 4 shown in FIG.8 so that the common display 4 displays a screen in which the symbolsthus picked up are rearranged in a layout similar to the layout of thepartitioned regions q11 to q53 of each of the slot machines 10, 10A, and10B as shown in FIG. 2.

Thereafter, when the symbols in the screen displayed on the commondisplay 4 form a pattern defined as the condition for generating thepayout on the payout table stored in the ROM 108 of each of the slotmachines 10, 10A, and 10B, the payout controller 3 may judge that thecondition to generate the payout for the progressive bonus is satisfiedat the each of the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B.

The payout controller 3 terminates the payout notification process whenthe payout controller 3 judges not to generate the payouts for theprogressive bonus at the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B (NOin step S321). On the other hand, when the payout controller 3 judges togenerate the payouts for the progressive bonus (YES in step S321), thepayout controller 3 notifies the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and10B of the qualification that the progressive bonus payout condition issatisfied (step S322). Thereafter, the payout controller 3 terminatesthe payout notification process.

As apparent from the above description, in this embodiment, the payoutcontroller 3 and the common display 4 collectively constitute a commondisplay unit.

According to the slot machine 10, 10A, and 10B of this embodimentconfigured as described above, the credits counted by the respectivecounters 127 in the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B are individuallyprovided as the payouts for the progressive bonus upon receipt of thenotification, from the payout controller 3, that the progressive bonuspayout condition is qualified.

Here, the numbers of credits individually counted by the counters 127 ofthe respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B as the resources for theprogressive bonus are not at all influenced by the amount of the wagersthat are bet on the previous slot games with other slot machines 10,10A, and 10B by other players.

For this reason, the different contents of payouts for the progressivebonus can be provided to the players of the slot machines 10, 10A, and10B, when the payout controller 3 commonly notifies the slot machines10, 10A, and 10B that the progressive bonus payout condition issatisfied.

Accordingly, even when the players bet in different amounts on thegames, each player can receive the payout for the progressive bonuswithout being influenced by the contents of the bets on the slot gamesmade by other players. In this way, it is possible to provide the slotmachine 10 and the playing method thereof having higher entertainmentproperties by providing variation in the payout amounts for theprogressive bonus to be provided to the player at the slot machine 10 bythe trigger that is common to the gaming machines 10, 10A and 10B.

Here, the configuration to accumulate part of the credits bet on therespective slot games at slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B by the playersin the counters 127 of the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B isextremely advantageous from the viewpoint of setting the resources ofthe progressive bonus to the amounts of credits corresponding to thecontents of the bets (bet amounts) of credits on the slot games at therespective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B made by the individualplayers. Nevertheless, this configuration is not always essential andmay therefore be omitted.

Meanwhile, when the payout controller 3 judges whether or not togenerate the payouts for the progressive bonus at the respective slotmachines 10, 10A, and 10B in the process of step S320 in FIG. 12, thenotifications that the counted values of the counters 127 for countingthe resources for the progressive bonus from all the slot machines 10,10 a, 10B become the predetermined value or more is not necessarily aprerequisite.

For example, the payout controller 3 may be configured to judge whetheror not to generate the payouts for the progressive bonus when at leastone of the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B notifies the payout controller3 that the counted value of the counter 127 for counting the resourcesfor the progressive bonus reaches the predetermined value or more.Alternatively, the payout controller 3 may also be configured to judgewhether or not to generate the payouts for the progressive bonus atcertain timing (such as timing of a winning of an internal lottery)irrespective of the accumulation conditions of the resources for theprogressive bonus in the respective slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B.

In the above-described first embodiment, the display 16 is made of atransparent member and the rotatable reel device disposed behind thedisplay 16 is used for rearranging the symbols in the respectivepartitioned regions q11 to q53.

Instead, it is also possible to execute the rearrangement of the symbolsin the respective partitioned regions q11 to q53 on the display 16 maybe achieved in the form of a display on a liquid crystal panel includedin the display 16.

Now, a slot machine according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention configured to rearrange the symbols in the form of the displayon the liquid crystal panel will be described below. FIG. 15 is aperspective view of the slot machine according to the second embodimentof the present invention. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a controlcircuit of the slot machine according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention.

Now, as shown in FIG. 15, the windows 16 a to 16 e of the display 16 andthe rotatable reel device 53 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) provided with therotatable reels 53 a to 53 e that are disposed behind the windows 16 ato 16 e are omitted in the slot machine 10 of the second embodiment incomparison with the slot machine 10 of the first embodiment.

Moreover, in the slot machine 10 of this embodiment, the machinecontroller 40 omits the motor driving circuit 51 and the reel positiondetection circuit 52 as shown in FIG. 16. Here, along the omission ofthe rotatable reel device 53, the respective driving motors 56 a to 56 eof the rotatable reel device 53 which are driven by the motor drivingcircuit 51, and the sensors 54 a to 54 e for detecting rotation, stops,and stopped positions of the respective rotatable reels 53 a to 53 e ofthe rotatable reel device 53 by using the reel position detectioncircuit 52 are also omitted.

In the slot machine 10 of this embodiment, the display controller 140performs display control to execute the slot game and an effectcorresponding to an outcome of the slot game on the display 16.Specifically, the CPU 106 generates an image display instruction signalin response to the state of the slot game and the outcome of the slotgame and outputs the image display instruction signal to the displaycontroller 140 through the input-output bus 104. Upon receipt of theimage display instruction signal outputted from the CPU 106, the displaycontroller 140 generates a driving signal for driving the display 16 onthe basis of this image display instruction and outputs the generateddriving signal to the display 16. In this way, an effect imagecorresponding to the slot game and the outcome thereof is displayed onthe display 16.

Therefore, the CPU 106 outputs the image display signal for displayingan image of the slot game and the effect image corresponding to theoutcome thereof on the display 16 to the display controller 140 at thetiming corresponding to the progress of the slot game. In this way, theeffect image corresponding to the slot game and the outcome thereof isdisplayed on the display 16.

Moreover, the ROM 108 stores correlations between code numbersrepresenting the respective symbols and one or more random values thatbelong to a predetermined numerical value range (0 to 255) in the formof weighted data. The data are formed for each of the partitionedregions q11 to a53. For example, regarding a certain symbol, when aplurality of random number values corresponding to the symbol are set,the symbol becomes more likely to be selected compared to the case whereonly one random number value is set.

Moreover, as for the stopped symbol determination process of step S17 inFIG. 9 executed by the CPU 106 of the slot machine 10 of the firstembodiment, the CPU 106 of the slot machine 10 of the second embodimentdetermines the symbols to be stopped in the respective partitionedregions q11 to q53 by selecting a random value from the numerical valuesranging from 0 to 255 for each of the partitioned regions q11 to q53 byexecuting a random number generation program, and then referring to thecorrelations between the random values and the symbols stored in the ROM108.

Moreover, the CPU 106 executes the process to judge whether or not thesymbols rearranged in the partitioned regions q11 to q53 form a winningcombination in step S19 of the slot game process in FIG. 9, on the basisof the contents of rearranged symbols that are determined in the stoppedsymbol determination process in step S17.

Here, the slot machines 10A and 10B of the second embodiment, whichshare a jackpot managed by the payout controller 3 with the slot machine10, have similar configurations to the slot machine 10 of the secondembodiment described referring to FIG. 15 and FIG. 16.

According to the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B having theabove-described configurations and representing the second embodimentand the playing method thereof, it is also possible to achieve similareffects to the effects produced by the slot machines 10, 10A, and 10B ofthe first embodiment and the playing method thereof.

The slot machine of the present invention and the playing method thereofhave been described with reference to certain illustrated embodiments.However, the present invention is not limited only to the embodimentsexpressly stated herein and configurations of the respectiveconstituents may be replaced by any other configurations having similarfunctions.

For example, in the above-described embodiments, the display 16 isconfigured to have the 15 partitioned regions q11 to q53 defined by thefive columns and the three rows. However, the numbers of the rows andcolumns of the partitioned regions in the matrix constituting thedisplay may be any numbers in the column direction and in the rowdirection.

In addition, in the detailed description above, the characteristicportions are mainly described in order to make the present inventioneasily understandable. The present invention is not limited to theembodiments described in the detailed description above, and can beapplied to the other embodiments, and its range of application is wide.Also, the terms and the terminology used in the present specificationare used only for the purpose of explaining the present inventionprecisely, and not used for the purpose of limiting the interpretationof the present invention. Also, for those skilled in the art, it shouldbe easy to contemplate other configurations, systems, methods, etc.,that are contained in the concept of the present invention, from thecontent of the invention described in the present specification.Consequently, the description of the scope of claims should be construedas containing equivalent configurations within a range of not deviatingfrom a range of the technical ideas of the present invention. Also, thepurpose of the abstract is to make it possible for the patent office,the general public organizations, and technicians and the like whobelong to the present technical field and who are not thoroughlyfamiliar with patent and law terms or specialized terms, to quicklyjudge the technical content and its essence of the present applicationby a simple search. Consequently, the abstract is not intended to limitthe scope of the invention which should be evaluated by the descriptionof the scope of claims. Also, in order to sufficiently understand thepurpose of the present invention and the effects specific to the presentinvention, they should preferably be interpreted by sufficientlyreferring to the documents and the like that are already disclosed inpublic.

Also, the detailed description above contains the processing to beexecuted by a computer. The explanations and expressions in the aboveare described for the purpose of facilitating the most efficientunderstanding by those skilled in the art. In the present specification,each step used in deriving one result should be understood as aprocessing without a self-contradiction. Also, at each step,transmission and reception, recording, etc., of electric or magneticsignals will be carried out. In the processing at each step, suchsignals are expressed by bits, values, symbols, letters, terms, numbers,etc., but it should be noted that they are used simply because they areconvenient for the purpose of explanation. Also, there are cases wherethe processing at each step is described by an expression common to thehuman behavior, but the processing described in the presentspecification is to be executed by various devices in principle. Also,the other configuration required in carrying out each step will beobvious from the above description.

1. A gaming machine comprising: a display configured to display a unitgame causing a plurality of arranged symbols to be rearranged; a counterconfigured to count a counted value for a progressive bonus; and acontroller configured to (a) receive a notification from a commondisplay unit, the gaming machine and another gaming machine beingconnected together to the common display unit, the notification beingfor all the gaming machines connected to the common display unit andstating that a progressive bonus award condition is satisfied in aprogressive bonus award determination game executed by the commondisplay unit; (b) upon receipt of the notification from the commondisplay unit that the progressive bonus award condition is satisfied,provide an award for the progressive bonus in an amount corresponding tothe counted value.
 2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, whereinthe controller is configured to increment the counted value in responseto an amount bet on the unit game.
 3. The gaming machine according toclaim 1, wherein the controller is configured to, upon the counted valuebeing equal to or above a predetermined value, notify the common displayunit that the counted value is equal to or above the predeterminedvalue, and provide the award for the progressive bonus in the amountcorresponding to the counted value upon receipt of the notification fromthe common display unit that the progressive bonus award condition issatisfied in the progressive bonus award determination game executed bythe common display unit having received the notifications from all thegaming machines that the counted value is equal to or above thepredetermined value.
 4. The gaming machine according to claim 2,wherein, the controller is configured to, upon the counted value beingequal to or above a predetermined value, notify the common display unitthat the counted value is equal to or above the predetermined value, andprovide the award for the progressive bonus in the amount correspondingto the counted value upon receipt of the notification from the commondisplay unit that the progressive bonus award condition is satisfied inthe progressive bonus award determination game executed by the commondisplay unit having received the notifications from all the gamingmachines that the counted value is equal to or above the predeterminedvalue.
 5. A gaming machine comprising: a display configured to display aunit game causing a plurality of arranged symbols to be rearranged; acounter configured to count a counted value for a progressive bonus; anda controller configured to (a) determine a bet unit for betting on theunit game on the basis of player identification information providedfrom outside for identifying a player of the gaming machine; (b)increment the counted value according to an amount bet on the unit gamein the determined bet unit; (c) receive a notification from a commondisplay unit, the gaming machine and another gaming machine beingconnected together to the common display unit, the notification beingfor all the gaming machines connected to the common display unit andstating that a progressive bonus award condition is satisfied in aprogressive bonus award determination game executed by the commondisplay unit; (d) upon receipt of the notification from the commondisplay unit that the progressive bonus award condition is satisfied,provide an award for the progressive bonus in an amount corresponding tothe counted value.
 6. The gaming machine according to claim 5, wherein,the controller is configured to, upon the counted value being equal toor above a predetermined value depending on the bet unit, notify thecommon display unit that the counted value is equal to or above thepredetermined value based on the bet unit, and provide the award for theprogressive bonus in the amount corresponding to the counted value uponreceipt of the notification from the common display unit that theprogressive bonus award condition is satisfied in the progressive bonusaward determination game executed by the common display unit havingreceived the notifications from all the gaming machines that the countedvalue is equal to or above the predetermined value.
 7. A method ofplaying a gaming machine configured to display on a display a unit gamecausing a plurality of arranged symbols to be rearranged: receiving anotification from a common display unit, the gaming machine and anothergaming machine being connected together to the common display unit, thenotification being for all the gaming machines connected to the commondisplay unit and stating that a progressive bonus award condition issatisfied in a progressive bonus award determination game executed bythe common display unit; and upon receipt of the notification from thecommon display unit that the progressive bonus award condition issatisfied, providing an award for the progressive bonus in an amountcorresponding to a counted value of a counter being configured to countthe counted value for a progressive bonus.
 8. The method of playing agaming machine according to claim 7, further comprising: incrementingthe counted value in response to an amount bet on the unit game
 9. Themethod of playing a gaming machine according to claim 7, furthercomprising: upon the counted value being equal to or above apredetermined value, notifying the common display unit that the countedvalue is equal to or above the predetermined value; and providing theaward for the progressive bonus in the amount corresponding to thecounted value upon receipt of the notification from the common displayunit that the progressive bonus award condition is satisfied in theprogressive bonus award determination game executed by the commondisplay unit having received the notifications from all the gamingmachines that the counted value is equal to or above the predeterminedvalue.
 10. The method of playing a gaming machine according to claim 8,further comprising: upon the counted value being equal to or above apredetermined value, notifying the common display unit that the countedvalue is equal to or above the predetermined value; and providing theaward for the progressive bonus in the amount corresponding to thecounted value upon receipt of the notification from the common displayunit that the progressive bonus award condition is satisfied in theprogressive bonus award determination game executed by the commondisplay unit having received the notifications from all the gamingmachines that the counted value is equal to or above the predeterminedvalue.
 11. A method of playing a gaming machine configured to display ona display a unit game causing a plurality of arranged symbols to berearranged: determining a bet unit for betting on the unit game on thebasis of player identification information provided from outside foridentifying a player of the gaming machine; incrementing a counted valueof a counter according to an amount bet on the unit game in thedetermined bet unit, the counter being configured to count the countedvalue for a progressive bonus; and receiving a notification from acommon display unit, the gaming machine and another gaming machine beingconnected together to the common display unit, the notification beingfor all the gaming machines connected to the common display unit andstating that a progressive bonus award condition is satisfied in aprogressive bonus award determination game executed by the commondisplay unit; upon receipt of the notification from the common displayunit that the progressive bonus award condition is satisfied, providingan award for the progressive bonus in an amount corresponding to thecounted value.
 12. The method of playing a gaming machine according toclaim 11, further comprising: upon the counted value being equal to orabove a predetermined value depending on the bet unit, notifying thecommon display unit that the counted value is equal to or above thepredetermined value based on the bet unit; and providing the award forthe progressive bonus in the amount corresponding to the counted valueupon receipt of the notification from the common display unit that theprogressive bonus award condition is satisfied in the progressive bonusaward determination game executed by the common display unit havingreceived the notifications from all the gaming machines that the countedvalue is equal to or above the predetermined value.